it’s happened.

Someone on Teh Interwebz called my poems “all the same, boring and tired.”

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t bothered. Of course I was. But what can I do but own that? Oh, and try to be more interesting.

On the other hand, I did get a lovely birthday present from Donna – a small silver ring with a disc attached. The disc reads “With Me,” and fits neatly inside a keychain that Donna now carries. The keychain reads “I carry your heart,” which you may recognize as part of the first line of this wonderful e.e. cummings poem.

The manuscript progress goes very slowly. I am frustrated and worried. A friend recommended I have a stiff drink while reading James Wright’s The Branch Will Not Break; I’m just waiting for it to come in the mail.

Your poems are lovely. And you know that. You also know which poems of your own are your favorite this week and which you’d like to overhaul or shred. And sometimes these two switch places in a matter of weeks.

Writing poems is hard work, as difficult as teaching or moving a safe. Imagine the comments on your safe moving skills: “She took such small steps as she moved the safe, but she only needed to reposition it once” or “She might have moved it quickly but she looked so awkward hefting it.” Absurd!

Where am I going with this? Of course, you don’t just write for yourself anymore. You want to share your work with readers and you want them to respect what you do. That’s all the anxiety of putting a manuscript together and out. But you’ve done that, twice, with your chapbooks.

Second, perhaps this “criticism” seems disheartening since it comes at a time when you are feeling uncertain about the manuscript and therefore uncertain about your writing in general. But you have come through periods of doubt before, and you certainly should know (as others have mentioned above) how highly others regard your work.

Third, your work is important to you and a part of who you are. And sharing yourself is always a risky proposition, no matter what the form.

You rock it. Keep on going – and when you have someone in your life that gives you such a perfect birthday gift, not too much else should matter!